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Railway systems and equipment company Alstom has been awarded a firm order for the supply of 61 Citadis Spirit light rail vehicles for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area by Ontario government agency Metrolinx.

The value of the contract is over €355-million and the vehicle supply contract includes an option for additional vehicles.

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Alstom will supply Metrolinx with 48 m Citadis Spirits, which have a passenger capacity of 321 each. The Citadis Spirit is a 100% low-floor vehicle that offers easy accessibility from the street or the curb, and an interior layout featuring a wide central aisle and interior circulation that provide a safer and more enjoyable experience.

“We are proud to continue our collaboration with Metrolinx as it seeks to link communities and deliver advanced public transit solutions to the greater Toronto area, and we are honoured by their renewed confidence in our products, solutions and teams,” says Alstom Canada MD Angelo Guercioni.

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The Citadis Spirit has been designed for the Canadian market, capable of operating in winter conditions up to –38 ºC.

The vehicle is fitted with winterised solutions to ensure vehicle operational performance, as well as preserve passenger comfort and experience, such as reinforced insulation, heating, ventilation and cooling, and snow and ice management solutions.

All materials used on the vehicles are selected and tested in order to ensure performances in extreme cold conditions.

Alstom is also currently supplying 34 Citadis Spirit vehicles in accordance with a 2013 contract for the City of Ottawa’s O-Train Confederation Line.

Alstom has already assembled one-third of the fleet and it is in various stages of dynamic and static testing at the Belfast Yard Maintenance and Storage facility in Ottawa, Ontario.

In March, the Citadis Spirit vehicle achieved and surpassed commercial speed during dynamic tests along the Confederation Line alignment.

Alstom is also supplying Metrolinx with a new Iconis control centre to integrate the GO Transit network into a single, centralised facility, and a new signalling system for the Union station rail corridor.

Further, Alstom is providing a complete communications-based train control system for the Toronto Transit Commission’s Line 1 subway line, including the Toronto–York Spadina subway extension.

Alstom’s Citadis range of light rail vehicles uses a proven technology based on the return on experience, having sold more than 2 300 Citadis trains to more than 50 cities in 20 countries globally, including Barcelona, in Spain, Sydney and Melbourne, in Australia, Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and Algiers and Oran, in Algeria.

What They DoAs a promoter of sustainable mobility, Alstom develops and markets systems, equipment and services for the transport sector.

Alstom is a world leader in integrated transport systems. The company recorded sales of €7.3-billion and booked €10-billion in orders in the 2016/17 fiscal year.

Headquartered in France, Alstom is present in over 60 countries and employs 32 800 people. Its employees in France total about 8 500, providing a pool of expertise to serve French and international clients.

Twenty-Year Presence in PolandThis year marks the twentieth year of Alstom’s presence in Poland since the acquisition of Konstal Chorzów, near Katowice, in 1997.

During the first years following the acquisition, Alstom Konstal focused mainly on the manufacturing of trams.

The first metro train was produced at the Katowice site for Warsaw and put into commercial operation in 2000. It was the very first aluminium metro train produced in Poland and met local content requirements.

It led to the establishment of Western companies in Poland with technical transfer and know-how. The project was completed successfully on time, despite a very challenging schedule.

Among other significant successfully completed Alstom projects are trams for Warsaw and Istanbul, and a metro for Budapest and Amsterdam.

Alstom Konstal recently transformed from a subcomponents supplier to Alstom’s full leading unit.

Last year, Alstom Konstal achieved the status of leading unit for projects related to the new generation of Coradia regional trains and for aluminium metros.

The first projects implemented by Alstom Konstal as leading unit are the InterCity New Generation regional trains for the Netherlands and Riyadh Metro.

Alstom Konstal has the appropriate competences and experience to comprehensively manage projects from beginning to end. It is the outcome of several years of an intensive development of the site.

“Alstom Konstal has achieved this unique position of a global competence centre thanks to its employees who [hold] high qualifications and [are focused on] quality,” says Alstom Poland president Leslaw Kuzaj.

He adds that Alstom’s anniversary in Poland is a day of celebration for the people who demonstrated how, through their work, the summit of world excellence was reached and how it became one of the major sites of the global Alstom organisation.

Alstom Konstal CEO Radoslaw Banach notes that the company is proud of its heritage at the manufacturing site in Chorzów. “We have a strong legacy of technical excellence and haven proven our ability to answer customers’ needs. We are confident Alstom Konstal will [deliver] an even greater contribution to mobility in the future as well.”

Alstom’s ambition is to contribute to the development of Poland’s railway system through its technology and expertise. The company has been a pioneer in introducing high-speed trains in the country with its Pendolino flagship for PKP InterCity.

Over the years, Alstom Konstal has developed a strong relation with the local community and institutions.

With over 1 200 employees, Alstom is a local employer continuously investing in technology and skills. The company sources over 40% of components from subcontractors in Poland not only for its Polish factory but also for Alstom sites globally.

The site has established strong relationships with technical universities in Poland to contribute to the development of local engineering skills in the rail industry and support its recruitment activities, focusing on engineers with experience in the rail industry, as well as on talented graduates.

The cooperation with the Silesian University of Technology, in Gliwice, is unique in Poland. It is specifically aimed at the growing railway transport market.